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Orioles farm system earns low rankings as team debates keeping picks or signing free agents

Even before they were ranked near the bottom of baseball in a slew of farm system rankings, the Orioles’ minor league system and perceived dearth of impact prospects was a topic for debate this week when considering whether they should sacrifice early draft picks for free agents.

Fans and analysts staked out ground on either side, some saying the 14th and 29th overall picks this year could provide a base for the next great wave of Orioles prospects, and others believing the picks are well worth sacrificing to help a pennant push in the majors.

This week alone, ESPN’s Keith Law ranked the Orioles 27th out of the 30 major league organizations in terms of farm system quality, and Baseball America also ranked them 27th in their rankings announced Thursday.